Art for the kids

When the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri announced it was planning a scaled-back version of ArtsCape with no big act, food vendors or children's tent, many people just accepted it.

Not the Cadmium River Group.

When members of the Cape Girardeau-based art group heard there wouldn't be a children's tent, they stepped up to host it, promising art and craft activities to show children how fun art can be.

While the Cadmium River Group will use materials from its own stocks and donated items, the group will hold a banquet May 1 at Global Cafe on Broadway to raise additional funds to purchase more. The group has an exhibit in the rooms connected to the cafe, which will be open to the public during the lunch and dinner fundraisers.

For $15 you can have a Global Cafe lunch and wander the rooms of the Cadmium River Group's setup from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For $20, you can have a Global Cafe dinner and meander through the art gallery rooms from 5 to 9 p.m.

It seems part of the community is really stepping in to ensure this art festival prevails. They just need help from others.

The more adults who go to the lunch and dinner fundraisers, the more children will be able to enjoy the arts tent.

The Cadmium group jumping up to help out with ArtsCape comes right after its members welcomed the Cat Ranch Art Guild into their gallery space. The group, made up of photographers, painters, sculptors and other artists, has displayed in the rooms adjacent to Global Cafe for more than a year, but it seems to have taken an energy pill lately as it opens new shows and reaches out to other art groups.

True, the creations made in the children's tent might end up in the garbage during a move.

Still, the possibility remains that the experience will cause an artistic reverberation through their lives and they will grow to love and produce art as well.